Wind powered turbines

Posted on: 25 July 2016

Hiring one or more skip bins can be a great time and labour saver when it comes to removing large amounts of waste material from a work site, whatever the size of your project. However, when it comes to larger projects the cost of having skips repeatedly delivered and emptied can quickly add up, and you may wish to have skip bin waste compacted to increase efficiency and reduce hiring costs. 

Some skip bin services offer skips with in-built waste compactors, while others use modified forklifts and other heavy machinery to reduce the volume of your waste. Whichever option you choose, there are some distinct advantages to having your unwanted materials compacted. However, this process is not suitable for every project, so you should make sure skip compaction is right for you before you proceed.

Why should I have my skip bin waste compacted?

• Skip emptying costs: Having waste compacted on-site reduces the amount of times a skip needs to be emptied, especially on larger sites or long-term projects. This can save you significant money when it comes to skip emptying and transportation costs.
• Space constraints: Having skip waste compacted allows you to use less skips to hold the same amount of waste, so less valuable space is taken up with waste storage. This can be a particular boon on project sites with limited space, such as roadside properties where parking a skip by the road can cost a considerable amount.
• Theft deterrence: Skip compaction also effectively destroys any perceived scrap value of the waste in your skip, preventing thieves from breaking into your skips and making a huge mess.
• Carbon footprint reduction: Compacted waste, while not exactly good for the environment, can have a significantly lower carbon footprint due to the decreased space it takes up at landfill sites.

Why shouldn't I have my skip bin waste compacted?

• Economies of scale: Skip waste compaction makes more sense the more waste you have. For smaller projects that only require limited waste disposal capacity, the extra expense of hiring a compacting skip or having your waste compacted manually is often greater than simply hiring another skip, or having yours emptied and returned.
• Breakdowns: A compacting skip can suffer mechanical failures on occasion, while forklift-mounted compactors are only as reliable as the forklift they are mounted in. Mechanical problems can cause significant delays and bring work to a standstill until repairs are complete.
• Training: Depending on your local jurisdiction, workers may require special qualifications to operate skip compacting equipment, increasing hiring costs and potentially necessitating bringing in expensive outside professionals.
• Destruction of recyclable material: Although compacting can decrease your carbon footprint, it can also make potentially recyclable materials unusable. As such, skip compaction is generally more suited to mixed waste with little recycling value.